Article vending mechanism

ABSTRACT

An article release mechanism for a vending machine includes horizontal bar means disposed beneath a staggered stack of articles to be vended, wall means laterally supporting the articles in the column, and one of said means, such as the horizontal bar means, having a radial projection which cooperates with the other means to provide a 3-point engagement with the article being released.

United States Patent [1 1 Austin Dec. 4, 1973 ARTICLE VENDING MECHANISM [75] Inventor: Forrest L. Austin, Brooklyn Center,

Minn. v [73] Assignee: Selectivend, Inc., Des Moines, Iowa [22] Filed: Jan. 26, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 220,851

[52] US. Cl. 221 /67, 221/312 51 int. Cl. G07f 11/08 58 Field of Search 221/67, 312

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,438,502 3/1948 I-IOll 221/67 X 2,438,503 3/1948 Holt 221/67 X 9/1956 Johnson 221/67 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 662,078 4/1965 Belgium 221/67 Primary ExaminerRobert B. Reeves Assistant ExaminerFrederick R. Handren Attorney-H. Robert Henderson et al.

[57] ABSTRACT An article release mechanism for a vending machine includes horizontal bar means disposed beneath a staggered stack of articles to be vended, wall means laterally supporting the articles in the column, and one of said means, such as the horizontal bar means, having a radial projection which cooperates with the other means to provide a 3-point engagement with the article being released.

1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures ARTICLE VENDING MECHANISM BACKGROUND This invention pertains to an article vending mechanism for use in a vending machine having at least one staggered stack of articles;

PRIOR ART It has been known heretofore to provide article release mechanisms employing movable horizontal bar means, one such mechanism being shown in US. Pat. No. 3,203,588. In a column type vending machine having reciprocable bar means, of which such patent is merely representative, failures in vending occasionally occur because as the bar moves away from a relatively stationary surface to open a gap for the bottle or can to pass through, the gap may not open perfectly along the length of the movable bar means due to normal irregularities in construction of the mechanism, or due to deflection caused by loading of the structure. When this gap varies during release of the article, one end of a bottle or can can drop' out before the other, and the bottle or can may then stand upright, flop over, and effect blockage of the delivery chute and mechanism. Another aspect of the problem is that bottles and cans of a tapered configuration, for instance cans having a seam at only one end, are larger in diameter at one end than at the other, and as a consequence, the smaller bottom end may fall out first. Such cans have in the past proven unvendable in a column-type vender.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to an article vending mechanism that employs movable horizontal bar means that coact with a stationary wall means, one of such means, such as the horizontal bar means, being provided with a radial projection that engages the article centrally during the release thereof so as to provide 3-point support, or so as to provide a single point of support by one of said means whereby as releasing is completed, the can or bottle remains horizontal during release.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an article release mechanism that will yield consistent dropping of an article such as a bottle or can with the article, remaining horizontal during release.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an article releasing mechanism that is capable of dispensing an article or can having a degree of taper therein. v

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a projection on a reciprocating bar which, just prior to release of the article, engages the article and earns the article off the remainder of such bar whereby a 3-point suspension is provided for the article between the projection and the adjacent wall.

Many other advantages,.features and additional objects of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheet of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the presentinvention is shown by way of illustrative example.

ON THE DRAWINGS number of projections in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary end view of the structure of FIG. 1 showing release of the lowermost article;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary end view taken substantially along line IIIIII of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 showing a modified form of the present invention.

AS SHOWN ON THE DRAWINGS The principles of the present invention are particularly useful when embodied in an article vending mechanism such as is fragmentarily illustrated in FIG. 1, generally indicated by the numeral 10. The article vending mechanism 10 includes a frame 11, wall means 12,13 which define a column within which there is disposed a first or forward stack of staggered articles such as cans C and a second such stack disposed rearwardly thereof with articles in one stack aligned with articles in the other. The article vending mechanism further includes a horizontal bar means 14,15 which extend parallel to each other and parallel to the wall means 12,13.

Each of the horizontal bar means 14,15 is provided with a projection 16-19, there being one such projection on a particular bar for each stack of articles. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, each projection 16-19 constitutes an offset portion which is normally out of engagement with the article, but which is so disposed that it moves into engagement with the side of the article as the releasing movement of the bar means 14,15 progresses.

A typical can has a bead at each end that has a radial thickness that is usually about 0.050 inch in size. The projections 16-19 therefore project by a greater amount, such as 0.055 inch so that as shown in FIG. 3, just before release, the projection 18 will engage the article centrally and thus cam the end beads of the article off the'horizontal bar means 15 so that with the adjacent wall means 13, a 3-point support is provided for the article. Where the can has but a single bead, the lower end of the can that has no bead provides the third point of support.

As shown in FIG. 2, the staggered stack of articles are supported with the lowermost article C partially wedged between the horizontal bar means 15 and the adjacent wall means 13. The bar means 15, during release, pivots in a clockwise direction about a horizontal axis that extends through a pair of pivotal supports (like the pivotal supports 20 for the-bar means 14), so that the lowermost article moves downward further between the bar means 15 and the wall 13, the next article coming'to rest on the other horizontal bar means 14. However, just before release, the projection 18 engages a central part of the article C to provide the temporary 3-point support and release.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 4 is similar in that the projection is provided at 21 on the adjacent wall 22 with the horizontal bar means 23 being straight. The projection 21 is placed below the normal storage position of the lowennost article so that as the article wedges further down between the horizontal bar 23 and the wall22, the projection 21 engages the central portion of the article as explained.

A further explanation of the structure and operation of the article vending mechanism 10 is not necessary for an understanding of the present invention. With the mechanism illustrated, because of the presence of a storage shelf 24, it is possible to omit the projections 16 and 18 and retain the projections 17 and 19 which function as described. Although the invention has been disclosed in conjunction with a specific form of release mechanism employing a horizontal bar, it is to be understood that this invention can be adopted and made a part of other forms of release mechanisms employing a movable horizontal bar. Further, the projection can be provided using structure other than an offset in the bar itself.

The present invention when embodied in any article vending mechanism of this type, gives a commercial advantage to the user in that reliability in vending is obtained.

Although various minor modifications might be suggested by those versed in the art, it should be understood that I wish to embody within the scope of the patent warranted hereon, all such embodiments as reasonably and properly come within the scope of my contribution to the art.

I claim:

I. An article vending mechanism, comprising:

a frame;

wall means carried by said frame for supporting at least one stack of staggered articles in a single vertical column;

horizontal bar means including at least one horizontal bar movably supported by said frame for engaging and selectably releasing the lowermost one of the articles in said stack, said horizontal bar being parallel to said wall means; and

a projection on said horizontal other engageable with the article centrally thereof and cooperating with othr means to provide three-point support of the article during its release, said projection constituting an offset portion normally out of engagement with the article supported by said respective bar, and movable into engagement with the article as the releasing movement of said respective bar progresses. 

1. An article vending mechanism, comprising: a frame; wall means carried by said frame for supporting at least one stack of staggered articles in a single vertical column; horizontal bar means including at least one horizontal bar movably supported by said frame for engaging and selectably releasing the lowermost one of the articles in said stack, said horizontal bar being parallel to said wall means; and a projection on said horizontal other engageable with the article centrally thereof and cooperating with othr means to provide three-point support of the article during its release, said projection constituting an offset portion normally out of engagement with the article supported by said respective bar, and movable into engagement with the article as the releasing movement of said respective bar progresses. 